~ 'a fire was in my head' ~ W.B. Yeats

Tag Archives: England

Meet Chester. He lives in Beamish. There are three probabilities to how I knew his name: someone told me he was called Chester; his name was listed in that guidebook on my left hand or I named him myself.

Chester is a heart stealer. Even without a capture, this heart-warming moment will breathe eternally fresh in my stock of beautiful emotions. I held out my palm. He came closer and checked what’s in it for him. Mint candies. Chester didn’t hesitate. He licked them off as if chiding, “what took you so long to give me my treat?”

I told Chester to leave some for me. He kept on eating til my palm was empty. I giggled and he understood I had more. It only took him a second to realize where were the rest. He licked my purse too! The force of his tongue gave me a gentle push. His intelligence sealed my admiration for him. That’s when I patted his head. We exchanged the same unspoken message of thanks.

I’m having hot chocolate with milk in one of my Lang & Wise Collector Mugs (1997, S.B.B. #5). I purchased it for the rustic charm exuding from The Herb Wagon around it, a painting by Sherri Buck Baldwin.

I’m feeling arcadian. Despite living in the heart of a sophisticated metropolis, I am a country girl at heart. This mug keeps me connected with quaint countryside from time to time.

On my mind is the ballad Scarborough Fair. Herbs written around the mug, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme… remind me of my first morning in England which was spent visiting Anne Bronte’s grave in Scarborough and exploring the curtain wall around Scarborough Castle.

I leave you with words by Anne Bronte –

“He that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.”

and back to the present world of work and Facebook, a friend’s shoutout –

“Being smart is cool. But a good heart is better than all the good heads in the world. Kindness counts!”